Belgium’s forward Romelu Lukaku reacts while Argentina’s players celebrate after winning a quarter-final football match between Argentina and Belgium at the Mane Garrincha National Stadium in Brazil during the 2014 FIFA World Cup last Saturday. (Pedro Ugarte, AFP/Getty Images)

I wanted so badly to reply to Roger Smith of Lakewood, who is not enthralled by soccer, but I had only two hours on Saturday between the Argentina-Belgium game and the Netherlands-Costa Rica game — not enough time to describe this “beautiful game” to someone who was not impressed by U.S. goalie Tim Howard and all our players, who did not feel the excitement of the nail-biting finish of the game against Belgium, and who does not look at all our players as heroes, representing the true American spirit of “never give up; fight to the last minute.”

No, I will not waste my time on Roger Smith. Let him twiddle his thumbs. I have a few more exciting games of soccer to watch!

Rosalie Nemeth, Greenwood Village

This letter was published in the July 9 edition.

People don’t appreciate what they don’t understand. Soccer (football in most of the world) is a game that requires a history of participation to appreciate the skills, athleticism, determination, endurance and passion inherent in the sport. A true soccer fan can appreciate a 0-0 game played at a high level of skill and competition.

A fan of American football demands the instant gratification of scoring to be satisfied. The fan’s experience is enhanced by bone-crunching tackles. Athleticism, skill and endurance are required by only a few players. The rest of the team can be overfed and muscle-bound hunks only capable of proving over and over that momentum is the product of mass times velocity. If you like demolition derbies, you can appreciate American football. No subtlety required.

Walter Heidenfelder, Denver

This letter was published in the July 9 edition.

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United States goalkeeper Tim Howard saves a shot during his team’s 2-1 World Cup loss to Belgium on Tuesday. (The Associated Press)

I don’t understand soccer very well, but apparently the objective is to score a goal as soon as possible and spend the rest of the game playing keep-away and running out the clock. It pegs my excitement meter at somewhere between watching paint dry and twiddling my thumbs. I’ll stick to American football.

Roger Smith, Lakewood

This letter was published in the July 5 edition.

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A young man attended my son Alex’s viewing and funeral following his murder at the Century 16 Theater in Aurora on July 20, 2012, wearing a hastily sewn-together T-shirt that had half a Batman symbol on one side and half a Superman symbol on the other. He was a Red Robin employee and he went with the group to the movie that night that included Alex.

That young man was Bryson Billapando. It made my day to see the story in The Denver Post that he is in Brazil with the USA soccer team and is one of their chefs. Somewhere inside of me, I hope he brought that T-shirt with him to Brazil so in some way Alex could have made the trip with Bryson; I know Alex would be so proud of him.

When I wake every day, one of my first thoughts is about the loss of Alex, and when I go to sleep each night, I pray that all those brave survivors of that night make it through another night without any harm coming to them. The story about Bryson helps me know that he is making it through every night, and I hope as I prepare to celebrate Alex’s second birthday since he was murdered that I can read about more of the survivors and hear the positive spins they have put on their lives since that deadly night in July.

Tom Sullivan, Centennial

This letter was published in the June 22 edition.

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Guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 150 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address, day and evening phone numbers, and may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.

To reach the Denver Post editorial page by phone: 303-954-1331

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